Avatar: Story of the World: Earth
by Estrella Tallinfoot
Summary: The story of how the world began as Earthbending, Airbending, Waterbending, and Firebending emerge among past animal gods. Each of these are one-shot.


Avatar: the Last Airbender

Story of the World

Earth

_A long time ago, earth was a barren and uninhabited place. There was no water, no plants, and hardly any shade from the blazing sun above. Hardly anything lived there, and what did was extremely fierce, and it had become savage and murderous to get what it needed to survive. _

_Underneath this monstrous world, lived many, many sets of badgermoles. The badgermoles always had food in a plentiful supply, although they had to surface once in a while to drink when water grew very scarce. They had large, sharp claws that were used to dig their way among the sets, or to spar for mates or to ward of enemies, and a white-striped head with two black stripes on either side that ran all the way down their back and onto their flat, powerful tail. They had eyes, but generations of hardship had made them blind, so they used their immensely powerful nose to sense their way around. They could fight well, and were not picked upon by the lesser animals. _

_One badgermole in particular, was quite a large badgermole. His name was Amu, and he was certainly more of a peaceful badgermole than all the others, although he would fight if necessary. Amu would often find balance of things, and sometimes he would sit for days at a time and listen for it, calculating every last atom until it split apart, and was free of its earthbound spirit. One day, Amu found the balance inside himself. When that balance was opened, Amu found an ability not even known to the man of the hills, the most feared creature above the ground. The ability to move (but not yet control) the earth and plants. Amazed at his new find, Amu built himself a great kingdom, and kept his powers to himself. This changed Amu greatly. _

_The greedy badgermole began to move upwards toward the land and soon conquered everything above and below. He became an evil ruler, killing anything that got into his way to power. Amu became a tyrant. _

_Now once in a while, Amu would host get-togethers with the other animals, but they often ended in gore and a feast. Amu invited many of the higher-ranked animals among his kingdom, planning to kill them to frighten the uprising that was raging against him. Of course all the animals came, the majestic airbison, the mighty staglearn (a horned creature with small animal paws) and the quick long-legged jasper, just to name a few. _

_Amu locked them in his palace, and attacked his guests with the full force of his newfound powers. Each fought valiantly, but soon the only one left was the long-legged jasper. _

_The jasper was a quick-thinking and crafty animal, and (being wounded) limped over to the wicked king, he praised him, saying, "Oh, great and mighty King Amu, you must be the cleverest animal in the world, even greater than the man of the hills to have defeated all of these noble creatures. What craft you have! Oh, my my, I wish that I could have your wisdom and cunning."_

_Of course the king was greatly pleased with this, although he was wary of the jasper. "Why I thank you, my honored guest," he said through narrowed eyes, "that you think so highly of me. I was right to invite you to my party." _

"_Oh, great King," eulogized the jasper, "you are absolutely the most clever in all the land, and if you are as clever as I think you are, you will challenge me to a game before you do away with my pitiful life." _

"_A game," replied the badgermole King unamused. "If I am the most clever in all the land, then I will simply defeat you in this game paws-down, is this even worth my time?"_

"_Just hear me out, oh great one. I challenge you to a game of hide-and-go-seek. I will hide, and you will seek. If you find me, you may kill me. If you do not find me, you must teach all of the animals your special and wondrous powers."_

_The King roared with laughter at this absurd challenge. "I accept. You have until the moon is at its highest to find a hiding place. But keep this in mind, jasper," he added menacingly, baring his teeth in an evil grin, "wherever you hide, I will find you." _

_The jasper took off at a great speed, although he didn't get far because of his wounded leg. "Oh, what a fool I am," he mourned. "Badgermoles can see through the earth. Where am I to hide?" Feeling stupid and alone, the jasper wandered among the plains, glancing up at the moon ever so often. He roamed the desert, and looked up at the moon for the final time, for it was almost at its highest. A lonely bird swung its graceful wings around the moon, and the jasper sighed, "Oh, how I wish I was the bird, never touching the ground, flying freely without a care." Then an idea formed in his sly mind, and he called down the bird (which was actually a greater falcon, wings stretching twice as long as the grown man) and convinced it to let him ride upon its back, and they leaped up into the sky, far away from the badgermole searching below. _

_The badgermole was very furious at not sensing the jasper at once, but he had patience as he scoured the earth, hunting for that decisive long-legged jasper. But after 12 years, his patience finally ran out. "Oh, clever jasper," he yelled into the heavens, "you have deceived me! I cannot find you; you are certainly wittier than I." _

_A mirage appeared in front of the badgermole King, although it was not a mirage, it was the jasper, come down from the heavens above on his great bird. "I certainly am more intelligent than you, King Amu. Now you must keep your bargain, and teach all of the animals your powers." _

_Enraged at having lost the simple game, the badgermole lunged at the jasper. The jasper never had had time to get his wounded leg healed, and so he was an easy target for the maddened king. King Amu swept him aside easily, breaking his ribs and puncturing a hole through his wily heart. The king leaped over to the jasper to give him the final deathly blow, when the jasper croaked his last words with a malicious grin, "Clever is just another form of stupid." And he threw his head back and died. _

_The words shocked King Amu, and it made him remember of who he was; what he used to be. Amu backed off of the jasper, and ran. He ran blindly for 30 days and nights, until he finally meandered back to his kingdom. It was desolated. His mighty castle was torn to ruins, with brown and simple weeds growing from cracks in the reduced-to-rubble walls, and the tattered flag of himself hanging uselessly over the broken and mangled main door. The windows were broken, and there were small coals littered among the courtyard. "What have I done?" he cried. "What have I created?" _

"_A right mess, that's what," piped up a small voice behind him. Amu did not even turn around. _

"_Do you know how I can fix this?" he asked the voice. _

"_Keep your bargain with the jasper. That way it will be fair."_

"_But I cannot simply teach every animal to bend the earth as I do, then this whole muddle will begin all over again."_

"_Then just teach your own kind. The badgermoles. If they'll even accept you back." _

"_I will beg for their pardon if I have to. I will set this right."_

_And so he did. Amu ran on for four more straight days to his home beneath the earth, where all badgermoles were cowering from their villainous king. He pleaded for their forgiveness, and taught them the ways of bending the earth. _

_1200 years later, this art would be taught to mankind – a man and a woman to be precise, but first three more tales are to be told. _


End file.
